? How much is too much food

SERIOUSLY. Some days every 45 mins to an hour she would eat a 1/2 a can all day. I know I am thankful for her eating...but just need reassurance it's ok to feed her that much. If I don't she just paces back and forth to the food bowl to me. Jumps up wherever I am to get my attention. But I don't want her jumping up so much because of her arthritis??? I have to wear a path in carpet to stay busy so she won't jump up on me to beg. I'm tired. Lol I just want to sit down for awhile.

 

Is Phoebes over weight? She has her off days and goods days it seems. If she is not overweight I might just flow with it.

 

Not at all, she's the opposite of overweight. She used to be 21 pounds. Now shes 13. Ty will feed the beast then

 

Years ago with Nigel we were directed to Binky's Page and the only info was for Fancy Feast. I called it Pig Slop out of arrogance. Our cupboards were full of high-end $4 cans that they wouldn't touch. Noah and Nigel were getting scrawny, then they ate at McDonalds and got 90% of their body weight back. Lewis just inhales food and is rude, then pushes Noah off his dish. Worst ever was Simon who escaped for 4 days and when he got back here he slowly went to morbidly obese, maybe thought every meal may be his last. One day he got jammed between the stair railings, funny for 1 second. I'm sure it was 90% the cause of his death. Thankfully Noah will eat if you put food in front of him and because of his dental issues won't graze on the kibble. We have altered their metabolisms by bringing them inside. Pet food stores are the biggest fibbers. Weight loss food means they eat more, poop out more. There is no answer. Janet, what mother doesn't worry about their kids? Except my sister who goes to McDonalds when we order Thai because the smartest kid on the block just pouts. He's a teenager now. We were the family that ate together, roast beef and veggies. Then came the microwave. Was Phoebes over weight at 21? 13 is only 62% of 21 but in ALL her pictures she looks good. No dehydration, lethargy, etc. Maybe that's close to her ideal weight. I know you're not in denial so if her numbers are okay then do what you do. I know this sounds sexist but you're a smart girl (girl?). That was my little cheer-leading thing of the day, too old for pyramids and back flips. 500 words again for a simple question, that's me!

 

I wrote, produced and directed this for Phoebes. Leave a nickel at the door.

 

Yep girl it is. Or woman if I have to be responsible. She is ok and yes 21 she was a chubby checker. I had her on weight loss program, thought we were doing so good. Come to find out she was sick, losing muscle mass. So feeding the diabetes now. Still not gaining muscle mass. But aT least gaining a little we could breathe little better. Just need to make sure I'm not messing up her numbers by feeding her too much. Ty @Noah & me I love me some Cole and Marm!!!!squeel they are adorable.

 

I worry sometimes if I'm feeding Leo too much too. He's always bugging me for food and I wonder if it's just becoming a habit and he's not really hungry. Maybe when he gets bored or something. Hard to tell since they can't really tell you what's up. He talks all the time (if he's awake he's talking- even outside alone) so I have a hard time figuring out what exactly he wants.

 

Maybe it's better they can't talk. "Hello, have you seen my litterbox!" Sarcastically..."This food I eat day after day is DELICIOUS!" Our dog said roo roo roo, not woof. Two teenage girls (because teenage boys are afraid of dogs here) said "Look, a talking dog". A joke and a huge compliment.
Lewis worries me because he just eats for the sake of eating. If you don't squish his food down he'll gulp it. He was supposed to be fostered for 2 weeks, 3 years ago. How can I say this, I just cannot 100% warm up to him. He'll come snuggle and then next thing I'm reaching for the hydrogen peroxide. Frustrating, brings out the worst in me.

 

I guess keeping a weight check on them would be a good idea so we at least know if they're getting too much food or too little. If I don't feed Leo (at least a little) he goes outside and chews on sticks. Maybe he needs a chew toy like dogs have?

 

What I said about our missing for days cat Simon might be true. Permanently traumatized and like any animal do they think this might be my last meal? They've been inside forever, maybe lost their hunting skills and I don't think mice have much nutritional value. Something to think about. And of course the joke about the dog calling 911 while the cats are already at your eyeballs. "I fainted, NOT dead, it's me, Daddy!"

 

Over active thyroid comes to mind but I'm sure you've probably had this checked.

 

Why I love this this place. Not the active "Over active thyroid" but that it was followed by a polite "I'm sure you've probably had this checked" as opposed to looks I've gotten from techs who don't know that mouth breathing means stress giving me a dirty look "Do you know what a tie-rod is". Also, there's always something I never thought about, something simple, and Poof!, you just saved me $500 at my vet. Thank you very much. Okay, before we get into the self admiration thing.

 

Here's what Lewis just did. Feeding time, same food, identical amounts, identical dishes. Placed where they always eat, about 10 feet apart. I leave, come back, Noah is huddled in his basket because Lewis is eating his food. Noah will not fight back or whimper. There's lots of food left on Lewis's dish, I push him over there, he eats it. It's a behavioural issue isn't it? BTW, Lewis is not the smartest cat I've ever had.

 

Dr. Lisa put together a whole bunch of information on weight and feeding for us in her Feline Obesity: An Epidemic section on her website. Topics include, but are not limited to:

• Why are there so many fat cats?
• How to evaluate your own cat’s weight
• We owe it to our cats to feed them properly
• Recognizing fat versus muscle
• Implementing a safe weight-loss program
• How fast should my cat lose weight?
• How much should I feed?
• Consider calories, not just ounces

You might find some helpful information there.

And then there's this rather enlightening post from Hilary & Zug (a very knowledgeable and highly respected FDMB member) written on one of the several FDMB boards lost in cyberspace since the board originated in 1996:

why food should be somewhat controlled...
Posted by: Hilary & Zug(GA) (IP Logged)
Date: December 1, 2006 11:22PM

Here's a really good explanation of why NOT to overfeed/feed until "satisfied":

In general, brain cells do not need insulin to utilize glucose. A specific area of the brain, called the appetite center (in the hypothalamus), monitors the amount of glucose that circulates in the bloodstream. The lower the blood glucose level in the cells in the appetite center the greater the appetite. Unlike most of the brain cells, the ability of glucose to enter the cells of the appetite center is dependent upon insulin. In diabetes mellitus, with its lack of adequate insulin in the bloodstream, these appetite center cells don't monitor glucose levels properly, thinking the blood glucose is low. as a result, the pet develops polyphagia to correct for this perceived problem. The additional food that is then eaten further increases the blood glucose level.

from: http://lbah.com/feline/diabetes.htm#Pathophysiology

Basically, a cat that's unregulated can't really tell what's going on with its appetite, and the high BGs make the cat even hungrier. It's something of a balancing act -- you want to be sure you're feeding sufficient food that the cat is getting the nutrition it needs, especially to help reduce the risk of ketoacidosis, but you don't want to overfeed (which often happens when the cat is "hungry"). The poor cat doesn't know if it really needs food, it just knows that its brain is saying "need food now!".

Hilary

Me: Active (albeit intermittently) on FDMB since Dec 2002.
Zug (GA): B&W Japanese Bobtail, unknown age.
Diagnosed 12/18/02. Tightly regulated on PZI-VET for most of his fight with diabetes. Died of peritoneal carcinomatosis (a very invasive form of cancer) October 19, 2005, and sorely missed.

Here's a link to a more recent discussion stemming from Hilary's 2006 post which took place in the L & L ISG in 2010:

• Discussion: "Feed kitty as much as they want?"

Interesting points and considerations were made. Definitely worth reading!

 

This isn't science based but some dog people intentionally get mean dogs. Why get a Pit Bull with kids in the house. I know "It's the owner, not the dog" but you're increasing the odds of a disaster. On the other hand cat people have always had to endure stupid stigmas, "No, I'm not gay!" "I'm not a Spinster". We are nice but are we suckers/gullible/easy marks and therefore cave in. I find it emotionally hard not to feed the cats, never mind force feeding. And if Weight Loss cat food doesn't work than it should be illegal to label it as such. I've never seen a fat outdoor cat, have you?
As always, thank you Jill & Alex for not just using scanning software for dirty words, inappropriate comments.

 

Very true. I've never seen a fat outdoor cat. Makes me think I need to get Leo moving more with a cat tree or something.